Stolen Face
by XiaoBai
Summary: Sasuke thought that he had finally fulfilled his ambition and stole someone's face to return 'home'. There, he discovered that Sakura wanted to heal and Naruto wanted to learn how to kill. Sasunaru.


This idea came to me one day when I was having my lunch...and I really liked it. So I planned it out, cause I don't want it to get abandon...;; But anyway, I think it's going to be quite short...-- 

I've edited the format of the story. kicks ffnet Stupid thing. It messed the up different parts of the story.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.

Special thanks to Spun and Seki. :3 Thanks for beta-ing this for me.

Summary: Sasuke thought that he had fulfilled his ambition and stole someone's face to return 'home'. There, he discovered that Sakura wanted to heal and Naruto wanted to learn how to kill.

"Well?" Naruto asked, after a long moment of silence since he entered the Hokage's office. His brows were knitted slightly and his brilliant blue eyes were staring eagerly back at Tsunade.

Tsunade's hand tightened on the piece of paper in her hand. She didn't want to do this; she didn't want him to become a killer. Yet as she looked into his determined eyes, Tsunade knew that she could delay this no more.

Slowly, she pushed the slightly crumpled paper across the table, towards Naruto. Naruto remained still lying flat, his eyes trained on the paper. Tsunade heard a small sigh escape his lips.

The two remained silent for another moment. Tsunade stared steadily at the young man sitting in front of her, while Naruto continued looking at the paper. Tsunade knew that he was waiting for her.

"Congratulations." Tsunade said finally, her voice ringing through the silent office, "You are now officially an Anbu."

Naruto's eyes closed and his shoulders dropped slightly, as if relieved of a great load. Tsunade's heart clenched slightly at the thought. _Naruto had really wanted to become an Anbu_, she thought and her eyes narrowed slightly in sadness.

"I'll have you know that I do not approve of this." Tsunade said, eyeing Naruto carefully. Naruto gave a loud sigh and crossed his arms, "Too bad I passed." He stuck his tongue out playfully and Tsunade couldn't help but smile.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, and Tsunade knew that he had seen the sadness in her smile. He looked down at the paper again and said, "I wanted to give it a go, baachan."

"It's not going to be easy for you, _Naruto_." Tsunade said softly, frowning worriedly, "It's not suitable-"

Naruto stood up suddenly and slammed his hands loudly on the table. Tsunade scowled in displeasure as Naruto's angry eyes met hers.

"If you are worried about that stupid fox taking over, then you can save your effort. I won't let it have me, get it?" Naruto hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "Just_ trust me _for one_ fucking _time_, okay!_"

Tsunade closed her eyes in exasperation, "I trust you, Naruto. I trust you more than I trust anyone else in this village. I'm not worried about that fox or whatever." She opened her eyes and met Naruto's eyes, "I'm worried that the Anbu life will affect you. You know very well what Anbus usually _do_. Did you forget what happened during your _first time_?"

Naruto's eyes flashed with pain, fear and anxiety at her words, before he closed them. He gave a small snarl and gritted his teeth, "Don't worry about that, baachan. That's the reason why I joined Anbu in the first place." He took in a deep breath and opened his eyes. Tsunade started slightly when she saw the coldness in his eyes.

"I need to learn to kill." Naruto said softly, his voice void of emotion. Tsunade felt her heart break when she heard it. _Where is that livelymight be better with lively boy who won my necklace?_

"Very well. If you are so determined, then I won't stop you." Tsunade said, turning her eyes back to her paperwork.

_Seven years_, he thought, _Seven years of hatred and it has finally ended_.

He could taste the blood in the air as he stared at the prone body of the man he had once called brother. Finally he had succeeded. Finally he had avenged his clan. He closed his eyes.

_Now what?_

His eyes snapped opened angrily and the wheels in his red eyes whirled. _Now what?_ His mind asked him mockingly. _Go back to Otogakure and present your body to that man? Go find a woman and rebuild your clan? Go back to Konoha and kill Naruto? Take that sword in your hand and end your meaningless life?_

Sasuke laughed coldly.

_Pathetic._

"_Shut up_!" He snarled at no one, "_Shut up! Shut up! **SHUT UP**!_"

His voice rang through the silent forest and he could hear his own heartbeat as he panted. _Now what? What are you going to do? What are you going to say?_

"Shut up." He hissed.

He looked down at the dripping sword in his hand, _dripping with the blood of your clan_, his mind hissed. _You have killed one of your clan too…you are no better than **him**_. _**He** has made you into a shadow of himself. You are no better than him…_

His face twisted in agony as he stared at the blood on his sword. The blood of the second remaining Uchiha in this world. The blood of the man he once loved as a family. He had killed him. He had found his revenge.

And now, he did not know what to do.

"Well done." Sasuke's mouth curled into a sneer as Orochimaru's oily voice rang through the dark room. He let the slick tones of praise slide past him and began planning.

_What should I do now?_

_Certainly not give my body to this wretched man_, Sasuke thought as he felt a slight trace of fear coming from Orochimaru. His mouth curled more. _Pathetic. Why did I approach him in the first place?_

_Oh, right. For **power**._ Sasuke remembered and his sneer fell away. _But I have achieved my goal...he will want my body soon..._

The sneer came back. _As if I would let him take it._ Sasuke scorned inwardly. _He missed his chance last year. I won't stay here for another two years just to let him get it._

Orochimaru's voice continued to praise him, but Sasuke paid no attention to it. In his mind, he was already formulating a plan to escape Otogakure, and he knew that he would succeed.

_I have fulfilled my aim. It's useless for me to remain in this pathetic place._

Stolen Face

By:XiaoBai

With a small rustle, the Anbu entered the mission briefing room and froze. His teammates were already in the room, waiting for him. The tardy Anbu raised his hand and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, his mind already working on an excuse.

"Save it." His captain said, looking back down at the map on the table, "We are going to be late."

The Anbu nodded slightly in relief and moved to the table too.

"I'll repeat the mission again, since someone was late." The Anbu winced briefly and focused on the map. It was hardly his problem that he's late…he had to tend to the payment of his apartment…he had to-

"Yamazaki, are you listening?" His captain snapped and the man jumped slightly, taken aback by the terse attitude of his usually laid-back captain. Perhaps something bad had happened today? Whatever it was, his captain certainly did not not seem to be in the mood for joking around.

"Y-yes, sir!" He said loudly.

"As I was saying, we were told to eliminate these people." The captain pointed a gloved finger at four photos on the table, "They usually travel in pairs and gather when they reach a main town or a big village. This time, they are moving west towards Grass country from one of villages in the north of Konoha. We are going to intercept them near the forests at the borders." The captain paused for a moment, his finger resting on Sound country, before moving his hand from the map.

"This mission will bring us near the borders of Sound. I want each and every one of you to be extremely alert and careful. There may be some Sound ninjas around the borders." The Anbu watched as his captain adjusted his mask slightly. The medic of the group shifted slightly and he saw her he saw her turning to watch the captain sharply.

"Any questions?" His captain asked, and when everyone shook their heads, he nodded, "Good. We are moving out."

_Easy. So absolutely fucking easy._ Sasuke laughed, looking at the purple-blue of the evening sky.

Leaving Otogakure was as easy as snapping his fingers. Hell, there weren't any guards at the only entrance and exit to Otogakure. _Too confident of yourself aren't you, Orochimaru_, Sasuke thought scornfully. _You thought that those who enter would not leave...you believed that your subordinates would never abandon you. You **believed **that **I** would stay. _

A malicious smirk lingered on Sasuke's lips as he leaped through the trees

**_Dream on_**, **_bastard._ **

He landed softly on a branch, figuring that he had at least some time to spare. _Now what?_ He thought. _Taki or Konoha...?_ Usually, he would have preferred the Hidden Waterfalls to the Hidden Leaf village.

_But it's boring there_. A part of his mind complained. _Everyone there is so weak. Konoha is better than Taki...there's the Fifth Hokage whom Orochimaru has yet defeated...there's the person who taught you Chidori...**There's the boy who changed you**_

_Shut up._ Sasuke said annoyingly at the little voice in his head. Yet he knew that there was some truth in those words...Konoha did have more competent ninjas than Taki.

The problem lay in how he would return. Use a disguise? But as whom should he go as…? If his identity was discovered, he would have to go against a whole village of ninjas, even if some of them weren't his opponents…but numbers do make a difference…Sasuke scowled in annoyance.

Suddenly a soft rustle broke him from his thoughts and an Anbu burst out of the leaves of a neighbouring tree. Sasuke's hands reached immediately to his weapons, slightly taken aback. _Why hadn't I sensed him?_ Was Sasuke's first thought before tensing slightly as the Anbu moved into a defensive position. Sasuke took this chance to feel the chakra power of the Anbu. _Hmph. Average for an Anbu._ Sasuke thought as his eyes dilated maliciously. _I can finish him._

But first, Sasuke was more curious about the village he came from. _Sound? _He felt a slight excitement at the next idea. **_Konoha?_**

_I have to find out._ Sasuke thought and attacked first with his katana, forcing the Anbu to block it with a kunai. Sasuke's momentum pushed the two off the single branch and as they fell, Sasuke jerked his blade, so that the metal guards on the Anbu's gloved hands were facing him. The metal reflected the soft evening light for a moment before revealing the symbol carved on it.

Sasuke felt his mouth stretched into a wicked grin.

**_Konoha_**.

_Too strong_, he thought tiredly as he was dropped onto the forest ground effortlessly. He took note of his breathlessness and knew that his lungs were injured quite badly. _I was too careless._ The Anbu thought, _Captain would kill me if he knew about it._ At that thought, he laughed, but only a dry cough came out from his mouth.

The Sound ninja walked casually towards him and squatted beside his head. The Anbu looked up and saw a dark smile upon his attacker's face. His own eyes widened in fear behind his cracked mask as the ninja moved his hand towards his face. He saw the smile widened. As the hand closed over his face, he heard the voice of the Sound ninja.

"_What is your name?_"

Naruto waited impatiently for the last member of his team to arrive, taking note of the darkening sky. _Damn it_, he cursed silently as he forced his body to calm down. _But something's wrong here, _his instincts told him, _Yamazaki is never late during a mission_.

On his right, Hinata was tensed too, and Naruto knew that it was his fault. He took a deep breath through his frog mask and forced himself to relax. _Calm down, stupid!_ He chided himself; _maybe Yamazaki met a few problems with the Sound ninjas._ His shoulders tensed even more at that thought. _Sound ninja. **Sound ninja**__Orochimaru. Kabuto. **Sasuke.**_

He almost jumped when Hinata touched his shoulder. Jerking out of his thoughts, he heard Hinata speaking lowly to him and noticed the worry in her words. Naruto gritted his teeth. He had caused his teammates to be worried.

"I'm fine, Hinata." Naruto replied softly, smiling even though she couldn't see it. He felt Hinata scrutinized him through her mouse mask before letting go his shoulder.

"I understand, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, before moving back to her position on his right.

Naruto sighed inaudibly.

Sasuke performed an Earth jutsu on the dead body and made sure that it was buried deep in the ground. Standing up, he adjusted his 'new' clothes, trying to get used to them. It was slightly baggy, but no one would notice that.

Rubbing at the artificial skin on his jaw line, Sasuke checked his own chakra, making sure that it was the same as the dead man's. He revised the information he had leeched from the Anbu before killing him, taking note of the words he was supposed to say, the attitude he was supposed to have and the actions he was supposed to make after returning to the Anbu team. It wouldn't do to expose his identity by making a stupid mistake.

With a leap, Sasuke landed neatly onto the ground and paused, his mind scanning through the information he needed. 'Saeki' was late, and the first thing he did was to make an excuse. _Excuses_, Sasuke thought, _Just like Kakashi-sensei_.

Shaking his head slightly, he moved towards his team awkwardly, mouth already opening to deliver the excuse he had thought up. But the Anbu with the frog mask turned his head sharply towards him and Sasuke's instincts flared. Was his identity exposed already? _Pity_, Sasuke thought and prepared for any attacks.

"Password, Yamazaki, for Hinata." The Anbu said, and Sasuke paused. _Hinata_. _Hyuuga Hinata? _His eyes jerked towards the frog masked Anbu and noticed the crop of blond hair glimmering slightly in the rising stars. _A blond, _he thought,_ how many people in Konoha are blonds?_- and searched his brain for the identity of Saeki's captain. He raised his eyebrows behind the broken jackal mask, _Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. I never knew you were competent enough to become an Anbu captain._

_Back to the question, please, _Sasuke thought._ It's an animal_. His mind said and Sasuke opened his mouth, "Eagle."

Naruto scrutinized Sasuke for another tensed moment before nodding, "You're late."

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head and recited the lines once more in his head, feeling as though he was imitating Kakashi instead, "Ah…I was on my way back when I saw an injured animal-"

The two other Anbus sighed in exasperation and Sasuke smirked in triumph inwardly. Naruto ignored them and asked, "Did you complete your part?"

Sasuke took note of the attitude Saeki should have. He should be nervous and a little scared. _Is Naruto really such a scary captain?_ Sasuke thought before answering, "Y-yes sir!"

Naruto nodded and seemed to be satisfied with the answer, but Sasuke felt the chakra probes Naruto sent and forced himself to relax. Naruto tested Sasuke's chakra for a few moments before retreating. Sasuke knew that a ninja with Saeki's level of chakra would not have known that someone had probed his chakra. He feigned ignorance and watched as Naruto instructed them to head back.

After reporting to the mission management office, and getting hit by Ino for something unreasonable (_I had only teased her about Shikamaru..._Naruto thought indignantly, rubbing his sore head), Naruto stepped out of the administration office into the moonlight. He felt Kyuubi stirring slightly and raised his head to look at the moon. The brightness of the moon made him wince and shield his eyes with his hand, but he never stopped looking at it. He half-closed his eyes and let his hand fell to his side, staring at the moon dully. Suddenly, Naruto felt very tired and he closed his eyes, making his way back to his apartment slowly.

He stumbled into his flat, pulling his arm guards and his gloves off as he moved towards the bedroom. _Sleep, need sleep_ was the only thought in his head as he opened the door to his bedroom. He pulled off his vest and then his tight black top and tumbled into the bed tiredly.

Naruto was so tired that he did not feel the slight breeze as someone entered the room. As he was about to drift into sleep, a small clatter alerted him and Naruto cracked an eye open, only to for surprise to propel him to full consciousness when he saw the person leaning over him.

Uchiha Sasuke grinned down at Naruto and leaned even closer. "Hello, _usuratonkachi_. It has been a long time."

Right. Lots of people commented thatit's kinda fast for Sasuke to appear so quickly...and the only explanation I can give is that he's an impatient git. ;;Also, I don't really want to make this a very long story.

Next chapter is already done...I'm still waiting for Spun to beta it for me. I'll post it up as soon as I can.

Last but not least, please review and give me comments.


End file.
